Claire Prescott agrees to stand in for
her sister at a Jane Austen seminar in England. She in an unemployed
American and dissatisfied with her relationship with her boyfriend
Neil. Once in England, she feels intimidated by the scholars and well-educated crowd at Oxford so she pretends to be a doctor. She meets a cast of interesting
characters, one of which is Harriet Dalrymple, an older woman
suffering from dementia and who has in her possession what she claims
to be Jane Austen's original Pride and Prejudice manuscript. Things
get more complicated when she meets handsome James, who also happens
to be in the publishing business.

The missing manuscript concept was
really interesting and had me wondering where it would lead. Would it
be kept a secret or would it be exposed to the world? The setting of
Oxford, with a cast of characters that were fans of Jane Austen, a
world totally foreign to Claire set the mood for the book. The
romance on the other hand was unexciting. But the book is about so
much more. It's about self-discovery, and learning to
have balanced family relationships. Claire has always put her sister
first in everything after their parents died, and it almost cost her the relationship with Neil.

Mr. Darcy represents a fictional
hero that women strive to look for and that causes them to miss the
true picture of the real heroes in their lives. Claire needed a break
to re-examine her entire life and her trip to England helped her to
do that. She realized her need to reclaim her life and stop being so
overprotective of her younger sister. I could understand her
insecurities, her yearnings and her flaws but her attraction to James
wasn't based on anything concrete. There was no tension between them
and frankly, I wasn't crazy about James who appeared to be more of a
stalker than a romantic hero.

This was a fun, light book to read.
Jane Austen fans will appreciate the references to her literary work.
But if you're looking for a romantic read, this one might not be it.

Note: This book is rated C = clean read.

I will count this book toward the following challenges: TwentyEleven Challenge

Reviewed by Laura

Disclosure: I bought this book and was not told how to rate or review this product.

I'm not a huge romance fan but if it's introduced in the book I want it to really knock my socks off. Too bad this one disappoints. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books. I am sooo in love with Mr. Darcy!